When aerospace executive Dick Harper (George Segal) loses his job as part of a company-wide downsizing, he and his stay-at-home wife (Jane Fonda) have to resort to desperate criminal measures in order to maintain their luxurious lifestyle, becoming an upscale Bonnie and Clyde.
It’s funny at first, but being out of work isn’t much of a laugh really and the Harpers are rotten people who feel entitled to a luxurious standard of living. The gags eventually become hard to sustain despite director Ted Kotcheff’s pleasant handling of the situation.
The 2005 remake with Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni took a more slapstick approach to the couple’s unhappy situation.
The humour inherent in the title is lost on British audiences (it’s the name of a basic primary school book in the States).
Dick Harper
George Segal Jane Harper
Jane Fonda Charlie Blanchard
Ed McMahon Dr Will
Dick Gautier Raoul Esteban
Hank Garcia Jane’s father
John Dehner Jane’s mother
Mary Jackson Mr Weeks
Walter Brooke Billy Harper
Sean Frye Blanchard’s secretary
Maxine Stuart
Director
Ted Kotcheff
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Dick Harper
